Our cultural heritage

Of the ten UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Lombardy, Varese has more than any other province with four: Sacro Monte, Monte San Giorgio, the Castelseprio-Torba Archaeological Park and Isolino Virginia.

Sacro Monte di Varese (Sacred Mountain of Varese) is a complex that includes Via Sacra (holy road), a cobbled devotional road that passes by fourteen chapels as it climbs the mountain. Skilfully integrated into the surrounding countryside, the Via Sacra takes to the top of the mountain at the Santa Maria del Monte Sanctuary.

Listed in 2010 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Monte San Giorgio is regarded as the world’s best fossil record of marine life from the Middle Triassic, a geologic epoch between 247 and 237 million years ago. The mountain has produced diverse and numerous fossils.

Castrum Sibrium was a military stronghold in Roman times and used over the following centuries by the Goths, Byzantines, Longobards and then the Visconti. It is located between the upland and the valley of the River Olona, near the Church of Santa Maria Foris Portas, that hosts some beautiful frescos.

Isolino Virginia is a triangle of land just a few yards off the west bank of Lake Varese, near Biandronno. Nearly the entire island is covered by luxuriant vegetation which is home to many wild animals. Flora includes willows, oak trees, common alders, water lilies, butcher’s broom and some rare varieties, such as the bald cypress. As the island is one of the most famous sites from the European prehistoric period, access to some areas is restricted.

Located between the upland and the valley of the River Olona, Castrum Sibrium was a military stronghold in Roman times and used over the following centuries by the Goths, Byzantines, Longobards and then the Visconti. Ottone Visconti, Lord of...

Isolino Virginia

Isolino Virginia is one of the oldest pile-dwelling settlements in the Alps and was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2011 as part of a serial property known as the “Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps”. The tiny islet is home...

Sacro Monte di Varese

Sacro Monte (Sacred Mountain) is the finest example of history and art in the Varese area. It is one of the nine sites known as the Sacri Monti (Sacred Mountains) of Piedmont and Lombardy that were inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage...

Monte San Giorgio

Visit these places and the fossil museums and discover a fascinating lost world that dates back over 200 million years. Monte San Giorgio is regarded as the world’s best fossil record of marine life from the Middle Triassic, a geologic epoch...

Via Francisca del Lucomagno

Via Francisca del Lucomagno covers important stages and monastic settlements that were fundamental for European medieval history. The route is replete with historic and religious relics and, in ancient times, allowed pilgrims and emperors to...